Dilapidations

Are you a tenant and have you had a schedule of Dilapidations served on you by your landlord?

Are you a landlord concerned about your tenant breaching the repair covenants of their lease?

In either case you are likely to require the services of a surveyor experienced in dilapidations procedures.

What are Dilapidations?
All leases have obligations on a landlord or tenant to keep a property in a certain state of repair and decoration. Dilapidations refer to a state of repair and decorative order that falls below the level required by the lease.

Near or at the end of a lease when a tenant leaves the leased premises, they are usually bound by the terms of the lease to undertake repairs or pay for any defects or items of disrepair. These defects and disrepairs are what are meant by dilapidations.

A Schedule of Dilapidations
At any time during the lease term, but usually near the end of the lease, a surveyor will be appointed by the landlord to assess the condition of the premises and form a schedule of dilapidations.

NOTE: A surveyor can provide a Schedule of Condition at the commencement of a lease in order to make a clear record of the condition of the property to avoid contentious claims for repair at a later date.

The schedule of dilapidations will list out the defective elements of the building, cross referenced against the lease covenants that have been breached and provide a cost breakdown of repairs.

A terminal schedule will usually also list costs for surveyors fees, legal fees and loss of rent. The resulting claim for costs can in some instances be very high.

Another surveyor will usually be appointed by the tenant to make an assessment on their behalf to reduce the cost of the claim. It will be down to the two surveyors to negotiate and agree the full cost of the claim and bring about a smooth negotiation between landlord and tenant.

RMA Surveyors Ltd are experienced in acting on behalf of Landlords and Tenants.